Local News in Brief : Ex-Olympic Diver Talked Out of Leap

A bronze medal winner in the 1964 Olympic springboard diving competition, who recently made a death-defying leap from a 160-foot harbor bridge, was talked down from another bridge, authorities said.

Larry Andreasen was convinced by police not to jump from the Vincent Thomas Bridge between San Pedro and Terminal Island on Tuesday, Los Angeles Port Police Sgt. Dale Dupler said.

In September, Andreasen, 43, survived a 160-foot dive off the Gerald Desmond Bridge into the Long Beach Harbor and spent several days in the hospital.

At the time, police and fire officials questioned whether Andreasen was attempting suicide, although he told authorities that he “just wanted to see if he had the old Olympic stuff,” Lt. Howard Jenkins said.

Dupler said Andreasen was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation after he was talked down from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which is 365 feet above Los Angeles Harbor channel at its highest point. Andreasen was at least 200 feet up, police said.